1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to electrical outlets having safety characteristics that prevent electrical shock when other than a typical plug is inserted.
2. Description of Prior Art
The typical wall socket used in homes and businesses provide power to items plugged in via the direct contact of the item plug tangs and the socket internal conductive receivers. These internal contacts are typically directly connected to the electrical source with no internal socket switches. In the typical installation two of the three socket plug tang receiver locations are connected to ground and one is connected to the ‘hot’ side of the electrical source. There is a one in three chance that an unknowing person sticking a conductive object into a socket opening will receive an electrical shock.
Numerous prior safety enhancement methods have been devised to reduce the potential of an electrical shock to a person should they insert an electrically conductive foreign object into a socket. The most typical example for the need of the enhancement is that of a child sticking a metallic object into the socket. U.S. Pat. No. 6,224,401 discloses a device which provides a reduction to the risk of shock by mechanically blocking the plug insertion locations on the socket. One of the most common protection methods is by completing the circuit within the socket by a cross-strapping configuration whereas the plug tang insertion on one side (e.g., ground side) closes the circuit within the socket to the socket conductive receiver on the other side (e.g., hot side). The safety feature prevents a shock from the side a single item is plugged into because it is the other side where a connection is made by that item being inserted. While this feature is effective if no other action is taken, should that object be left in the socket and a second conductive object be inserted into the other side of the socket, there would be an exposed ‘hot’ conductor that could shock the person inserting the object. U.S. Pat. No. 7,070,432 is a example of this type of safety feature.
While these configurations are an improvement to a typical socket configuration, one that is always powered, they do not protect against multiple items being inserted. The typical improved configurations are also made up of many small components making the manufacturing cost and complexity a barrier to implementation.